Reviews with content warning for Suicide attempt - No Longer Human

“From then on, however, I came to hold, almost as a philosophical conviction, the belief: What is society but an individual?”

An interesting introspection of an unreliable narrator. Dazai’s prose feels very raw and vulnerable in a way that feels like the reader is listening in a confessional. While I can’t personally relate to the objective events in this book, the underlying themes of society vs individual, imposter syndrome, and self criticism are deeply relatable. It is very reminiscent of Albert Camus’ ‘The Stranger,’ and I would definitely read again to dive deeper into the subtext. The book overall is very short but the content itself is rich

A criticism I do have is related to the portrayal of women and

Spoiler

sexual assault

that happens. Whether that is an intentional outlook of the character versus a sign of the author and his times is uncertain to me

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aliennnn's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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chinola's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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carla20's review against another edition

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dark reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I really enjoyed the first half of the story. Yozo was a very introspective and self reflecting character since he was a child, but as he grows older, he seems to burry himself deeper in his own view of the world, and misses that self awareness he had at the beggining of his life. As an adult, he brings nothing but tragedy to the people around him, specially women. His view of women and their role in society revolves around his very limited vision of the world and seems to fundamentally blame women of everything that goes wrong in his life. I found it fascinating that almost everyone around him seemed to exempt him of his faults and put the blame on someone else, but I guess is the consequence of Yozo constantly faking what he really thinks and feels.
I liked that the final message of the books was that "everything passes".

Spoiler

Even though Yozo's ending was tragic, the overall message that no matter how hard life gets, it will pass, was strangely conforting in a novel so dark.

.
I will definitely pick up the author's other books.

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anni_o's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

Protagonist / Writer of the Notebooks is rather sexist. I guess it is a product of its time, but it sure did not age well. The prose is beautiful in parts, and a mix of vague and too detailed in others. The insight into his depressive episodes was very meaningful/insightful, and it was a rather quick read. I related to the protagonist in part, especially with the view of the world, but in other parts it was frustrating to see him spiral further and further.

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justakoi's review against another edition

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challenging dark fast-paced

Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

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